Last night, we planned to start our day by watching sunrise. But we were tired and woke up only after 8.30 am. Yes we are late. Suriya called and we told we'll be ready in a few...While we were getting ready, suriya came along with his friend IlayaRaja (known by the name rocket raja!) to pick us up for sightseeing. When we went outside, the sun was shining bright and we never thought the climate will overturn in a matter of minutes. Next thing was to find a good hotel for our breakfast. Diwali hangover, maybe, most hotels were closed.
We had our breakfast from a small hotel and continued towards Dhanushkodi, the ghost land. We could see the cloud forming and the sky was getting dark. Within minutes heavy downpour started. We couldn't see whats happening infront of us. Luckily, we had a very good guide. Suriya & raja are very familiar with these roads. The rain compelled to delay our plans. Suriya was also having some bad news; we can go only upto Dhanushkodi, and the dhanushkodi- aarichal munai road was closed as the pillar area was collapsed and submerged in sea water. Aarichal Munai was one of the highlights in my trip and the information was a complete shock to all 3 of us. Aarichal Munai was the indian border between India and Sri-Lanka just 20kms away from TalaiMannar, Sri Lanka ! The strength of rain was getting weaker and weaker. We reached dhanushkodi, the GhostCity, which was once homeland for many. And yes, the road was closed and only option to reach aarichal munai was to walk 4 kilometers from Dhanushkodi. Since the sky is dark, we have no option but to reschedule the aarichal munai visit to the next day.
The famous old church was to the right and the railway station was to the left. We opted the church and walked towards the old church remains which stands as a scary remainder of 1964 deadly cyclone. The church bears the scars of that deadly night and now one of the major tourist attractions. The climate here changes within minutes, for a period it was bright sunshine and then changed to rainfall. This switching continued the whole day which seriously affected our plan. After taking some snaps, we went to the beach behind the church and could see the cloud forming which was a clear indication that it'll rain within minutes. I'm more tensed as i am having all my gadgets exposed and i had no other way but to run towards the car. We had to wait for a few minutes for the rain to pass. Then my friends went to the nearest shop to taste "Fish Fry" Special. Then we headed to old railway station remains and near to that seen a temple of Lord Rama. There you can see the famous floating stone. History says Lord Rama and his troops used these floating stones to build a path to then Lanka (now SriLanka) to retake Sita Devi from Ravana. You can actually see these rocks floating in water. For us, we've heard these stories but for first time I'm seeing this historic item.
The railway lines (track) were removed by Indian Railways, said Suriya. But the track basement can be seen there. There's nothing much to see in the railway station. Just some ghostly buildings. Not only these two, you can find many small and big building remains throughout the area. There's no electricity in this place and its engulfed in darkness after sunset. Though its deserted, Dhanushkodi was a beautiful place where nature exposes itself to its maximum.
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Dhanushkodi Disaster in brief:
A depression formed at south Andaman sea gets intensified into a cyclonic storm and hit Dhanushkodi on 22 December,1964 night with high power. It is believed to have a velocity of 280 Km/hr and with tidal waves of 20 feet height. When this disastrous cyclone hit Dhanushkodi, it also overthrew a passenger train which then was crossing Pamban bridge killing every single soul on-board that train. It is estimated that around 1700+ people lost their lives. Government declared Dhanushkodi as Ghost Town as its unfit for living and remains inhabited since then.
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All of us are completely wet by now and went back to hotel for some rest. By 3pm, we went to Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial. Its located on the highway itself and thats the final resting place of India's Missile Man. Mr. Harun, family member of Dr.APJ sir, also a good freind of Suriya came with us to fast forward the entry to Dr.APJ's memorial. We went to the memorial and Suriya and Harun waited outside with the vehicle. Dr.APJ's memorial was a strict NO PHOTOGRAPHY zone and hence couldn't capture any of the interior pictures. Dr.APJ is still an inspiration to many around the world. From a poor boy who has no money to feed himself to the Missile Man of India and the President of India. Its the result of his hard work ! We could see his wax statutes, his books, belongings, his quotes, his works, his final resting place, his contributions to the country and to the world and much much more. This place was such an inspiration. Each pictures, each quotes inspire us to march forward, stretch to our limits, and to take risks. One of his quotes " If you want to shine like a sun, then burn like a sun" has a wide meaning to aspirants. If he can, then why we can't? From my opinion, young people should be brought to this place to let them find thier inner talents and spirits. He was such a wonderful person and a good example.
After completing the visit, we then went to famous 'Pamban Bridge'. The original Pamban bridge was destroyed by the 1964 cyclone and the remains are still visible near to the new Pamban railway bridge. Our plan is to take photos of the train crossing Pamban and within 15 minutes came the Madurai Rameshwaram Passenger train. As the train approached Pamban, due to speed restrictions, the train was crawling over the bridge. We all were running here and there to take pictures and Harun and Suriya was watching us for safety. For me, another wish came true. It was such a beautiful and heavenly moment for me to capture the moment. The sea was greenish and the chilling wind made our day even better. It took around 5-10 minutes to cross the bridge and we started to plan for the next stop. Harun and suriya then told of a beach which was near to Vivekananda memorial where we can watch the sunset. We had no time to waste. En route we stopped at an upcoming harbor for some photo shoot. We reached the beach and started to walk from one end to the other dead end. Sea was calm and the chilling breeze accompanied us the whole way. We could see Indian Coast Guard Hovercraft docking at the end of the beach where we are actually heading. We increased our walking pace so as to see the Hovercraft for ourselves. As expected, coast guard officials came and made an inquiry and they went off. Such a marvelous piece of machinery. We watched them departing and then we continued taking pictures of the beautiful sky and ocean. Sky is golden on to our right and getting dark onto our left. I just couldn't leave from there but was forced to as there's no place to take shelter if it rains. We then started our return after spending some quality time over this place.
Harun told us that we can visit Dr. APJ Sir's house today itself. We were planning to make a visit the next day. Its getting dark and we rushed towards Dr. APJ's house. Its around 7.30 pm and there were no visitors around. It was like an exclusive visit event for us. Stairs were wet due to rain and we walked towards the entrance. We could see many of his belongings, gifts he got from other rulers, his awards and much much more. The list of Degree/PhD which he gained during his lifetime made all of us think twice. We, especially I, used to think getting a degree itself is a hectic job and couldn't think of going for a major ! Harun is explaining and guiding us through Dr. APJ's house and yes this place too was a STRICT NO PHOTOGRAPHY ZONE. Couldn't capture at least one image. After the visit, its time for us to get back to hotel. After having dinner, we went to Hotel and thus wrapped Day 1 at Rameshwaram.
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